We’re flipping things around this week, since Conference USA has two games tomorrow night, we’ll get them tomorrow and give you the WAC preview in this space, since all their games are conveniently set for Saturday.
12:00 PM, CBS College- Hawaii at Army: Hawaii’s offense showed a lot against USC- they can rack up the yards and score points. But their defense looked pretty bad- was that a good offense, or are they in trouble? Army won a tough game over an Eastern Michigan team they probably should have handled with a bit less difficulty. Line: Army by 3. Hawaii is taking the longest trip of any team this season, for a game that kicks off at 6 AM Honolulu time. I’m sure they’re taking steps to alter their schedule ahead of time, but that still makes things difficult. I think Army’s defense is good enough to slow down the Warriors, but it will be close. Army 32-28.
12:00 PM, ESPN- San Jose State at #11 Wisconsin: San Jose comes off a tough game against the #1 team in the country and gets rewarded with a trip to see the #11 team. The goal at this point is to improve if you can, and keep guys healthy before WAC play starts in October.
12:30 PM, Idaho at #7 Nebraska: Idaho had little trouble sending North Dakota home with a loss, but Nebraska is a different animal entirely. Don’t be surprised if the Vandals do put up a fight, but their defense will have to play out of their minds to keep it close down the stretch. Line: Nebraska by 28.5. Nebraska did beat WKU by 39, but I think Idaho should be more than 10 points better than they were. Call it 42-21.
3:30 PM, CBS College- Georgia Southern at Navy: Part 2 of CBSC’s Armed Services doubleheader, Navy should have no trouble bouncing back and fixing mistakes from the Maryland game. No line.
7:00 PM- Louisiana Tech at Texas A&M: Tech didn’t set the world on fire with a 20-6 win over Grambling State, while A&M lit up Stephen W. Austin to the tune of 48-7. Tough matchup for Louisiana Tech. Line: Texas A&M by 19.5. This is probably not going to be that close. 44-14.
8:00 PM- Idaho State at Utah State: The Idaho State Bengals beat Montana-Western 32-3 last week, but they should still not be at Utah State’s level. No line.
8:00 PM- San Diego State at New Mexico State: San Diego State beat FCS whipping boy Nicholls State 47-0 last week, while the Aggies had to wait for this weekend to start up their season. New Mexico State may be improved this year, but SDSU should be the better team. Line: San Diego State by 13.5. That is pretty high for a team that hasn’t proved much yet and out on the road. I think it’s closer- SDSU wins it 24-17.
10:30 PM, ESPNU- Colorado State at Nevada: CSU beat Nevada last year before the bottom fell out on their season, while the Wolf Pack turned things around after that. It’s hard to imagine Nevada losing this one. Line: Nevada by 23.5. Nevada’s defense gave up 24 to Eastern Washington in the first three quarters last week, although CSU managed only 3 against Colorado. But I can’t pick CSU to cover anything until I see them score more than a field goal. Nevada wins this one going away, 49-10.
Boise State and Fresno State are idle this weekend.